Gary Hilton - Cheryl Dunlap murder TRIAL

[HopeFloats]

Snip from DawsonNews.com article dated 02-09-11:

Cagle has been following the case through a live Internet feed from the Leon County courtroom, where Hilton is dressed in a suit and tie.

Cagle said Hilton, who wore an orange inmate jumpsuit when pleading guilty to Emerson’s slaying on Jan. 31, 2008, isn’t fooling anyone with the “get-up.”

“They may have dressed him up a little bit, but you really can’t take away the sociopath in somebody by putting a coat and tie on him,” he said. “He is absolutely the same person that was here.

“You can look at him and see the same person we saw the night we arrested him — just a coward sitting there.”

Cagle said he’s looking forward to Hilton’s conviction in Florida, “so North Carolina authorities can proceed with the case they have against him.”

Hilton is also suspected in the 2007 double slayings of John and Irene Bryant in Pisgah National Forest, though he has not been charged in that case.


Once this one is done in Florida, hopefully I’ll get to go to North Carolina,” Cagle said. “I think once this case is concluded, North Carolina will step in, indict him and move forward with their case.”

 

[Mustang Sally]

News Flash:

March 21, 2011 by Julie Montanaro

The attorney who represented Gary Hilton in his recent kidnapping and murder case will no longer be handling death penalty cases.
Click here to find out more!

Ines Suber, who has defended clients in capital cases for nearly a decade, has confirmed that she has been reassigned and will handle appeals instead.

Hilton was convicted last month and a jury unanimously recommended a death sentence. It's the only death recommendation of Suber's career.

Suber says she will represent Hilton at his sentencing next month, but that will be her last death penalty case.

http://www.wctv.tv/floridanews/headlines/Hilton_Attorney_Reassigned__118400064.html

 

[Mustang Sally]

Today's Update:

State prosecutors and Gary Michael Hilton's team of public defenders will have a final chance today to present any additional evidence as to whether or not the serial killer should be executed for the 2007 murder of Cheryl Dunlap.

We will have live-streaming video and Jennifer Portman's tweets coming from the courthouse.

The so-called Spencer hearing will be held at 9 a.m. before Leon Circuit Judge James Hankinson.

Read more: Join us for live video from the Hilton hearing today | tallahassee.com | Tallahassee Democrat http://www.tallahassee.com/article/...o-from-the-Hilton-hearing-today#ixzz1IqDnN3AZ

 

[Mustang Sally]

This is the free site:

Gary Hilton Hearing
Watch Live Streaming of the Gary Hilton hearing.

http://www.wctv.tv/home/misc/119341969.html

 

[Mustang Sally]

Sentencing will be Thursday, April 21, at 10:00 AM.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Notes on the hearing:

Those who knew Crawfordville Sunday School teacher Cheryl Dunlap say their lives have been forever changed.

Today, they got the chance to express themselves in court in front of the man accused of killing her.

A jury convicted Gary Michael Hilton 12 to 0 for the murder of Cheryl Dunlap, and they also voted 12 to 0 to recommend the death penalty...

But, today it was mostly about Dunlap's family and friends as they were allowed to have their voices heard before the judge makes a final decision on Hilton's sentence.

Gary Michael Hilton asks about the well being of his public defender as he walks into the courtroom...

But, it was the loved ones of the woman he's convicted of killing that aren't doing so well.

"I miss my friend."

Friends and family of Cheryl Dunlap had an opportunity to express their feelings before Hilton is sentenced during a victim impact hearing Thursday...

Dunlap's aunt says Dunlap loved to read at Leon Sinks... where Hilton is convicted of kidnapping Dunlap before murdering her in December 2007

Emma Blount, Cheryl Dunlap's aunt, says, "I remember one time in particular when I told her I didn't like for her to go there alone. She said I had nothing to worry about, she would be perfectly safe. There was no one there who would harm her. To have her taken from a place she felt and enjoyed adds to the horror of this."

Dunlap's former co-worker, best friend, and prayer partner then shared how her life has changed since Dunlap's death.

Laura Walker, Cheryl Dunlap's best friend, says, "She was a counselor, a shoulder to cry on and the list goes on and on. When the realization hit me that I would no longer see her or hear her voice again, I just felt empty and void."

Hilton declined to speak during the hearing, but Dunlap's cousin made it clear in her speech how she feels about him.

Gloria Tucker, Cheryl Dunlap's cousin, says, "What will it take to stop this monster? There is no question he must pay with his own life."

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/G...ial_-_Victim_Impact_Statements_119396334.html

 

[sleutherontheside]

Sentencing will be streaming live at the link below!! 10AM Thursday the 21st.

http://www.wctv.tv/

 

[Reader]

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Gary_Michael_Hilton_Sentencing_120345189.html

"It is ordered and judged that you Gary Michael Hilton be sentenced to death for the murder of Cheryl Dunlap. This sentence is subject to automatic review by the Florida Supreme Court. May God have mercy on your soul," Judge James Hankinson tells Gary Michael Hilton.

-------------

Dunlap's aunt and cousin were in the courtroom this morning as were the Sheriff's of both Leon and Wakulla County.

Sheriff Campbell says, "Hilton comes shuffling into court like he's some poor old grandfather. He's not, he's a monster."

 

[sleutherontheside]

The Judge chose not to read his order as so many judge's do. Instead he simply handed down the death penalty for the murder of Cheryl Dunlap, Life in Prison for her kidnapping and rape, no time for auto theft, and 5 years for theft from her bank account.

His sentences are consecutive and he was given time served credit for approx 1000 days in the kidnapping charge.

The Judge walked in at 10:02 AM and out at 10:08 AM.

Short and sweet.

 

[sleutherontheside]

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Gary_Michael_Hilton_Sentencing_120345189.html

Gary Michael Hilton En Route to Death Row

 

[sleutherontheside]

[UPDATE] What Did The Gary Michael Hilton Trial Cost?


http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/What_did_Gary_Hilton_Trial_Cost_120605959.html

 

[stillwatersc]

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Gary_Michael_Hilton_Sentencing_120345189.html

"It is ordered and judged that you Gary Michael Hilton be sentenced to death for the murder of Cheryl Dunlap. This sentence is subject to automatic review by the Florida Supreme Court. May God have mercy on your soul," Judge James Hankinson tells Gary Michael Hilton.

-------------

Dunlap's aunt and cousin were in the courtroom this morning as were the Sheriff's of both Leon and Wakulla County.

Sheriff Campbell says, "Hilton comes shuffling into court like he's some poor old grandfather. He's not, he's a monster."

Peace & comfort to all the victims' families and loved ones. GMH will never be free to practice his evil again.

 

[CharlieChan]

GMH's evil was halted in Georgia, but he was lovin every minute of it. He bragged that he had a TV and nobody messed with him. The Florida justice system has more teeth than that. He won't see a TV unless you buy him one. He gets a 6x9 cell--shower every couple days and an hour exercise in the yard twice a week. Welcome to Flo Death Row GMH!

 

[Mustang Sally]

Today's update:

Gary Michael Hilton has just filed an appeal of his conviction and death sentence.

Leon County court records show Hilton filed his intent to appeal this week with the Florida Supreme Court. The high court's web site lists his address as "death row."

A spokesperson with the public defender's office says it could take a while to compile all the transpcripts and records for the Supreme Court. She estimates there could be more than 10-thousand pages worth of documents.

To follow this appeal yourself, you can log on to the Florida Supreme Court web site and do a docket search. Choose "search by party or attorney," type in the name Gary Hilton and you can see a timeline of all filings, hearings and developments in the case.

http://jweb.flcourts.org/pls/docket/ds_docket_search

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Convicted_Killer_Gary_Hilton_Files_Appeal_122365559.html


I knew this was going to happen! Ugh....I hate that the murders get so many rights!

Rest in Peace Cheryl Hodges Dunlap....A True Angel Of God!

 

[sleutherontheside]

Mustang Sally...I came to post update and you beat me to it.

 

[scrabble]

Beautiful Meredith and beautiful Ella, such a bond, and so much joy...... and will hopefully be together and reunited again someday in a better place.

 

[scrabble]

A bright angel you are --- Cheryl Hodges Dunlap....Rest in Peace.

 

[Scarrgot]

The Friday night program on MSNBC wasn't given a lot of advanced hype. I didn't know it was on TV until I saw it posted here on WS. And I see that Fred Rosen has already gotten his book published. Four exceptional people lost their lives for no reason, but I am sure Meredith, Cheryl and the Bryants touched many people during their lives and those people are the better for knowing and loving them. May their spirits continue for many years to come.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Cheryl Dunlap Reported Missing Four Years Ago


Cousin writes book to give public better insight into the life of Cheryl Dunlap and the impact of the crime.
......

It's been four years since Dunlap was kidnapped and murdered by suspected serial killer Gary Michael Hilton.

"The shock is something you never get over. The feelings are something you never get over," Tucker said.

Tucker has just published a book about the crime and court proceedings that followed.

"I'd start at 11 o'clock at night and write until 3 or 4 in the morning. It was real therapy," she said.

She got her first hard copy of "Victimized by a Serial Killer" this week.

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Cheryl_Dunlap_Reported_Missing_Four_Years_Ago__134941238.html

Rest In Peace...Cheryl Hodges Dunlap...A True Angel of God!

 

[Foxfire]

http://www.prod.myajc.com/news/news/...-haunts/nTyq3/


After 5 years, notorious crime still haunts
Witness, authorities left asking, 'What if?'
Posted: 10:40 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013


Meredith Emerson's tragic tale ignited national concern. The fate of her killer, however, is in the hands of Florida judicial system. Gary Michael Hilton is appealing a death sentence for the murder of a nurse in the state.
By Bill Torpy

Eerie and disturbing is how Seth Blankenship recalls the scene he encountered on Blood Mountain on the afternoon of New Year’s Day 2008.
The hiking trail before him was torn up like there had been a fight. Water bottles, a leather dog leash, sun glasses, a police baton and a women’s hair barrette littered the ground.

Blankenship did not know exactly what had just transpired or the horror that was about to unfold. At this moment, he was what an excruciating number of others would soon become — one step behind serial killer Gary Hilton.

Minutes earlier, Blankenship saw a weathered, toothless man with a sheathed police baton walking near a pretty young woman carrying that leash. He thought they might be a father and daughter. But Blankenship, a former cop, got a gut feeling something was wrong after finding the odd assortment of gear. He started asking others if they had seen anything strange.

Bill Clawson, another hiker, had. Minutes earlier, Clawson, who was with his son and then-fiancé, spotted a scruffy man skulking in the woods as his family enjoyed a scenic moment. The man seemed impatient, as if waiting for the family to leave. Clawson and Blankenship walked back to where the stranger lurked.

Clawson left and turned in the items found on the trail to a nearby store. Blankenship readied the pistol in his pack and kept searching.

Blankenship found nothing, so he left as dusk approached. But despite his concern, his searching and questioning others at the scene, he failed to do something that still haunts him: “I didn’t call the police,” he said recently. “It’s horrible, but I didn’t call. If I had done things different, she could be alive today.”

“She” was Meredith Emerson, a 24-year-old woman who vanished from the busy trail that day. Six days later, police found her headless body in another forest 40 miles away. She had survived for nearly 72 hours after being kidnapped by Hilton, held captive in his van as he drove town to town unsuccessfully trying to withdraw money from her bank account before returning to the forest to hide out.

The intense manhunt for Emerson became national news, with scores of searchers hitting the trails and hundreds of tips flowing into police. The search grabbed the public. It was every parent’s nightmare. The young woman fought a violent battle on the trail against a vicious and evil tormentor and kept herself alive for three days by refusing to give up her ATM code.

The case has faded in the five years since. But not for witnesses such as Blankenship, Emerson’s friends and family and investigators close to the case. For them, it is still filled with heartbreaking what-ifs and couldabeens that haunt them to this day.

The tragedy was compounded by the fact that the troubled inklings several hikers had Jan. 1 were not weaved together until a full day after Emerson was reported missing and two days after her abduction. The search never fully widened from the trails until the last few hours of the young woman’s life.

“There were so many close calls,” said John Cagle, the former GBI agent who headed the search. “I don’t want to go as far as saying missed opportunities. I guess I’d say close encounters or near misses.”

Interviews and an exhaustive reading of the voluminous case file shows Hilton repeatedly was on the edge of being detected any number of times during the last 72 hours of Emerson’s life.

(READ MORE/MUCH MORE)